


An In-Between

by orphan_account



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M, i dont know what im doing, post final resting place, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 19:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10906392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Only Peter and Juno, walking through an empty street that feels less empty with the two of them in it.alternatively titled: an au where juno is happy for like two seconds





	An In-Between

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first ever fic in this fandom so i hope i did okay on characterization! i wrote and posted this on my phone so forgive me for any formatting mistakes please

The rain beats down on Juno Steel and Peter Nureyev as they walk away from Juno's latest case. Or, at least, what used to be Juno's latest case. 

_They'd been scouring through The Hyperion Museum of Fine Art to dig up clues on the victim, a man killed by his wife. For money or for revenge, neither could pin-point it. The story behind it was too complicated, there was an affair, a whole mess of emails, and all of it led them to the museum.  
halfway through searching what seemed to be the thousandth hall, Nureyev smelled the fire. They barely got out before the whole place went up. One more second, and they would've been another layer of grime on Hyperion's streets. The perp ran off into the night, and Juno and Peter were left outside, evidence-less, and nearly scorched._

Juno was never one for fine art anyway.

The fire behind them reflects on the puddles in the street. Juno can feel the rain drag the sweat and oil from his face. The sound of his grating breathing is smothered by the sounds of the city. Beside him, Nureyev is breathing just as heavily.  
All of the sudden, Juno feels a laugh bubble out of him.  
"Holy shit." His smile is almost blinding. "We made it."  
He can feel each syllable scrape the back of his throat. If he has to do any more running tonight, he swears he'll need a new pair of lungs.  
Nureyev grins with him.  
"We did indeed." He says. He sounds a bit more composed than Juno, but, to be fair, he's always a bit more composed than Juno.  
They let themselves laugh for a while before falling into a comfortable silence. 

Peter looks to Juno. Not Rex Glass, nor Duke Rose. Peter Nureyev. His face is soft, content. There's no mask on this time. Only Peter and Juno, walking through an empty street that feels less empty with the two of them in it.  
Nureyev finally breaks the silence.  
"However exhilarating running out of a burning building may have been, Detective, there's only one question left. Where will we find our next lead?" He tilts his head. "With the museum gone, the trace gone, what do we do?"  
Juno sighs quietly.  
"Start from scratch, I guess," He says. "We could find out what kinda places he was a regular at, track down the wife, track down our arsonist over there," He looks over into the distance and scoffs. "I'll put Rita on it."  
Nureyev slips his fingers in with Juno's, squeezing his hand.  
"For now?"  
Juno looks back to Peter. His eyes are bright with something Juno doesn't know what to call. All he knows is that it makes him feel warm, even in the middle of a rainy, drafty street.  
"Let's go home." He says.

  
  


"Home" turns out to be a mile long walk and a cab ride away. Lights flit by quickly outside of the cab window, and Juno watches buildings outside transition from the highbrow neighborhood to the dumpier part of town. They get there faster than expected.  
Nureyev takes his hand when they stop, slipping the cab driver a few creds with his other hand and pulling Juno from the car. He makes it seem like a single, fluid motion.  
"I think need a drink." Juno says, trudging up the stairs.  
"You always do, darling." Says Nureyev.

Once they're into his apartment, Juno falls onto the couch. Nureyev walks past to pull a bottle of scotch from the kitchen. It crosses his mind that the two of them should eat, but it's not like he has anything in his poor excuse for a fridge. The drinks will do.  
Nureyev reaches for a couple of glasses, but ultimately, he decides against them. Before he knows it, he's back across the room.

"Juno." He says softly, placing a hand on Juno's legs.  
He groans, and moves them.  
Nureyev pulls them back over his lap once he's sat down, handing the scotch to Juno.  
They sit in another bout of silence. Peter's head rests against the back of the couch, glasses slightly askew, like he's looking up at something with his eyes closed. A couple of random strands of hair fall where they shouldn't fall on his head. Juno can tell that his cologne is already sinking into the couch.

If he says something stupid, he can blame it on the alcohol.

"I'm so goddamn sorry." He says. It's painful. "I didn't say it before. It's all I ever think about."  
Six months ago (which, then, was precisely ten months after he lost his eye) Juno Steel and Peter Nureyev made an agreement. The long and the short of it was that Juno would stay on Mars. He needed Hyperion city as much as it needed him. Even in the ugliness of it all, it was still his home. Peter would visit one week out every month. sometimes a little longer. It worked out, but Juno still felt a sharp pull in his chest whenever Nureyev had been gone too long. Despite it all, they'd found a way.

"Juno-" Peter's voice seemed to ache, and genuinely too. Juno could tell whether or not he was acting by now.  
"No, listen to me Nureyev," He cuts him off. "I know we talked about it. I _know_ we did. But it still stays with me. Every damn night."  
Nureyev's face is pained.  
"Juno, I-" He reaches a hand out to rest on Juno's hipbone.  
"No, no." He says. "I think about you, waking up in the morning with no one there, crushed. I don't deserve a guy like you. You put up with all my bullshit, but- but how? I'm not good for anything anymore. Not after losing this eye, and especially not after leaving you. How do you do it?" His words slur a little.  
He can't tell the difference between how much of it is actually the alcohol and how much of it is him pretending it is.  
"Juno." Nureyev says his name more firmly this time, enough to get him to look up from burying his face in the bottle.

His eyebrows are furrowed angrily. He clears his throat, and speaks.  
"I put up with you because you trusted me." He says. "I thought I was a fool, but there was something different about you, Juno. I don't know what it was. You waited for me. You saved me. You pushed me out of Miasma's room like a selfless _idiot_ , even if it meant you would be killed. I put up with you because I love you, Juno Steel. I-," He pauses. "I hope you love me too." He adds on the last part more quietly.  
Juno's sat up now, moving across the couch towards him. Everything in the universe seems to be pushing him closer.

"You're a goddamn idiot, you know that?" He curls a calloused hand around his face.  
"I think we're both idiots." Nureyev smiles.  
Juno kisses him gently, and it's like the first time all over again. Lips like silk, strong hands pulling on his coat. He pulls himself onto Nureyev's lap, and they break the kiss.

"I-," He blurts. "I-,"  
"Shh, Juno," Peter's voice is a whisper now. "You don't have to-"  
"Goddamn it Nureyev," He says weakly. "Yes I do."  
They look at each other almost expectantly, watching to see who moves first.  
"I love you." Juno's voice cracks as he says it. He's so quiet.  
Peter just pulls him into another kiss.


End file.
